Step aside, school girl love letter machines. It’s Mom’s turn.

As you might recall, some of the stranger things you can buy out of Japanese capsule toy vending machines are letters supposedly written by a devoted little sister or a schoolgirl with a crush on you. Now, though, there’s a new series of gacha prizes with messages from someone who loves you very much: your mom.

OK, so technically these simulated text messages are coming from capsule toy maker Tama Kyu. Still, they’re very much the sort of texts the kind and caring woman who gave birth to you would send.

Feeling the need for a maternal boost, we decided to pick up a few of the Hokkori Okan Badges, or “Heartwarming Mom Pins,” each of which is shaped like a texting app text bubble.

After putting in our 200 yen (US$1.90), we turned the crank, received our capsule, and popped it open to see what Mom had to say, and it immediately brought a tear to our eye:

“If work is grinding you down, you can always come back home, anytime.”

Thanks, Mom (sniff)! Yeah, sometimes the nine-to-five (or eight-to-ten) here in the big city takes a lot out of us. We’re still hanging in there, though, but it’s nice to know that if things ever get really bad, there’s always a place where we can go for a hug and a pep talk.

Of course, texting with your mom isn’t always heart-to-heart correspondence. Sometimes it’s weirdly formatted messages, the product of her still not quite having the hang of typing on her smartphone, no matter how many times you show her how to do it.

“Hey! You forgot
to take your lun
ch with you.
Stay
sharp!”

Then again, some moms are more techno-savvy and perhaps overly eager to show off their emoji skills, following “Dinner is ready” with pictures of rice, curry, ramen, spaghetti, pizza, hot pot, a bento boxed lunch, tempura shrimp, a loaf of bread, and a fried egg.

▼ Umm, thanks Mom, but we don’t think we can eat that much. Yes, we know you think we’re down to skin-and-bones, but still.

And who could forget that classic: the text your mom meant to send to your dad, but ended up sending to you by accident.

“I love you, Hubby!”

▼ Technically it says “I love you, Papa,” but it’s fairly common for Japanese married couples to call each other “Mama” and “Papa” after they have kids.

In total, there are 13 different messages from Mom in the series, and while they may not have the sheer zaniness of some other capsule toys, they’re actually a pretty sweet idea, and also a good reminder that we should call our mom and see how she’s doing. And if instead of getting sweet messages from your parents you’ve been getting salty ones from online trolls, Tama Kyu has you covered on that front too.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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